Juniper awards govt C-minus in reform implementation

Almost eight years since the establishment of the aged care royal commission and one year since the new Aged Care Act, Juniper has released a report card assessing whether reform is actually delivering better outcomes for older Australians.

The Western Australian aged care provider has awarded the government an overall grade of C–, finding the changes have not yet translated into meaningful improvements for many older Australians.

Juniper came to the overall C– grade by looking at several challenges identified by the royal commission and assessing how they have been addressed.

The provider used publicly available data, government reports, independent reviews, inquiry submissions, sector research and lived-experience testimony from Juniper staff, customers and their families to assess how several challenges identified by the royal commission have been addressed.

Juniper considered whether there was:

• strong evidence of meaningful improvement
• progress but with important gaps remaining
• limited or uneven progress
• little evidence of real-world improvement.

The overall assessment included:

1. rights-based aged care (C–)
2. home care (D)
3. residential aged care (C+)
4. workforce (C)
5. dementia care (C)
6. First Nations aged care (D)
7. diversity and inclusion (C)
8. regulation and accountability (B–).

Juniper chief executive officer Russell Bricknell told The Ageing Agenda the findings of the Royal Commission Report Card sadly show why their asks on aged care as a sector are so urgent.

“We recognise important structural changes have been made but the reality is, older people are still facing long waits for assessments and care, having difficulty accessing affordable support and, while politicians across all parties argue over migration policies, there is still no long-term national workforce strategy which has greater implications than I think people realise,” Mr Bricknell told TAA.

“What we would like to see from the government is a shift in focus from implementing reform to measuring and delivering real outcomes for older Australians. That means full transparency on how decisions are being made and how many people are actually waiting for care.”

The 19-page report acknowledges progress in the introduction of a Statement of Rights for older Australians and stronger quality and accountability measures, but it also found many of the changes envisioned by the royal commission have yet to translate into better outcomes.

Key concerns identified in the report are:

• lengthy wait times for assessments and Support at Home
• workforce challenges
• growing demand for residential aged care
• ongoing barriers to accessing affordable care.

Mr Bricknell said the royal commission called for a system where older people could live with dignity, choice, independence and connection and that these outcomes need to be the measure of whether reform is working.

“We all remember the shocking stories that emerged from the royal commission, yet eight years after it was established, there are still so many questions that are going unanswered. Why is Support at Home funding being released at only 60 per cent of its assessed value? Why is an algorithm still determining funding outcomes for older Australians? And why are we still waiting for a full review of the Integrated Assessment Tool, despite the government acknowledging concerns with the current approach?” he told TAA.

“There is also an urgent need to address ongoing issues with AN-ACC funding. Current pricing settings do not reflect the true cost of providing quality care, which means providers are under even more pressure, which is undermining the sector’s ability to meet growing demand.”

As highlighted in the report, the success of aged care reform should not be measured by the number of reforms implemented but by whether older Australians are experiencing greater dignity, choice, independence and connection in their daily lives, Mr Bricknell told TAA.

“That is the real test of whether reform is making a difference,” he said.

Read Juniper’s Royal Commission Report Card here.

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